Method of making bag frames and blanks therefor



June 26, 1956 KARRON 2,751,956

METHOD OF MAKING BAG FRAMES AND BLANKS THEREFOR Filed April 21, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. YEDWARD M. KARRON June 26, 1956 E. M. KARRON 2,751,956

METHOD OF MAKING BAG FRAMES AND BLANKS THEREFOR Filed April 21 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

EDWARD M. KARRON United States Patent METHOD OF MAKING BAG FRAlVlES AND BLANKS THEREFOR Edward M. Karron, Neponsit, N. Y.

Application April 21, 1954, Serial No. 424,681

7 Claims. (Cl. 150-29) The present invention relates to metal frames and especially frames for handbags, purses, pocketbooks, and the like.

The frame generally used for the opening of a handbag or purse is a two-part frame, each part of which is approximately U-shaped in cross section. The two parts of the frame are normally pivotally connected together at their ends. Each part of the frame is U-shaped. Since pocketbooks, handbags, and purses are opened and closed many times, and since handbags and the like are not handled with any particular care, it is very desirable that the frames be of sufiicient strength to resist repeated strains occurring when the handbags or the like are opened and closed and occurring during careless handling thereof. The frames should preferably be light in weight so that they will not make the handbag unduly heavy to carry, and the frames should be formed of a minimum amount of material in the simplest possible manner in order to reduce the cost of the material in such frame to a minimum, and to reduce the cost of fabricating such frame to a minimum.

The frame for the purpose described should have corners which are neat and sharp, which are solid and strong, and which are smooth and do not show visible distortions or puckering of the metal.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a metal blank formed from a single piece of sheet material which can be formed into a channel, U-shaped in cross section, and which can thereafter be provided with a first reinforced, strong, smooth corner in one operation, and which can thereafter be provided with a second reinforced, strong, smooth corner in a further single operation, whereby to form a U-shaped frame member.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a method for making a frame member of the foregoing kind with a minimum number of simple steps.

it is a further object of the invention to join pivotally the ends of two of the blanks according to the invention after such blanks have been made to assume the form of channels which are U-shaped in cross section, and to thereafter provide both of the secured-together blanks simultaneously with a first pair of smooth, reinforced, strong corners, and thereafter simultaneously provide the secured-together blanks with a second pair of smooth reinforced strong corners, whereby to complete the forming of the two-part U-shaped frame in a minimum number of operations.

it is a further object of the invention to make a corner in a frame of the kind described without resorting to the use of elaborate or separate reinforcing elements or members, and without resorting to cutting out from the frame material elaborate or complicated configurations in order to produce a corner of acceptable strength and appearance after bending.

The various objects, features and advantages of the invention will become more fully apparent from the following description taken in conjuncn'on with the accompanying drawings, in which:

F 2 7 ,9 56 Patented June 26, 1956 too Figure 1 is a plan view of a blank for making one of the parts of the two-part frame embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a side perspective view of the blank shown in Fig. 1 after such blank has been bent into channel form so as to be substantially U-shaped in cross section;

Fig' 3 is a top plan view of two of the frame members shown in Fig. 2 pivotally coupled at their ends for a purpose to be described more fully hereinafter;

Fig. 4 shows the arrangement provided according to the present invention for forming a corner in the frame part shown in Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 shows a frame part such as that indicated in Fig. 2 after the bending operation;

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 5 and showing the appearance of the reinforcing element provided at the newly formed corner;

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary perspective view of the channel part shown in Fig. 2 prior to the formation of a corner at the section AA in Fig. 2;

Fig. 8 is a view similar to Fig. 7, but showing the channel part in Fig. 2 after a corner has been formed at section AA of Fig. 2;

Fig. 9 is a bottom plan view of a channel part as shown in Fig. 2 after the corner has been formed along the lines A-A in Fig. 2.

Referring to Fig. l of the drawings, reference numeral 2%} indicates a portion of a sheet metal blank which has at each end thereof pivot ears, one of which is shown in Fig. l at 21. Pivot ears 21 are provided with openings 22 to receive hollow rivets 23, shown in Fig. 3. Blank 24} has edges 24 and 25, the edge 25 being interrupted by a pair of openings 27 defined by edges 28, 29 and 39.

In Fig. 2, the blank 20 has been longitudinally bent to form a channeled frame part having a bottom 31, and side walls 32 and 33. It should be understood that forming the blank 20 into channel form, as shown in Fig. 2, can be carried out by any suitable method and that suitable methods are well known to those skilled in the art and need not, therefore, be described here.

Fig. 3 shows two complete channel-shaped frame parts, of which a portion is shown in Fig. 2.

The reference numeral 34, in Figs. 2 and 3, indicates generally a frame part which has been bent longitudinally into channel form.

Fig. 4 shows a frame part 34 disposed in operative relation with respect to a male die 35 and a female die 36 having side walls 37 and 38 arranged at right angles to one another. Channel formed frame part 34 is arranged with its bottom wall 31 upright and with its side wall 33" uppermost, and with one of the openings 27 in registration with die 35 in a manner to be described. It should be observed that the center line of male die 35 is in'registration with the point 40 showing the line of intersection of surfaces 37 and 38 of female die 36. Male die 35 has working surfaces 41 and 42 which are respectively parallel to surfaces 37 and 38 of female die 36. Channel-shaped frame part 34 is disposed below male die 35 such that a transverse plan through part 34 which bisects edge 29 of opening 27 will pass through the center line of male die 35.

Surface 43 (Fig. 7) of male die 35 is disposed slightly to the left of the inner surface 44 of bottom wall 31 of part 34. When the frame part 34 is located in the manner described with respect to dies 35 and 36, part 34 is ready to have a corner formed therein. It will be understood that suitable locating means may be provided, but which are not shown, for the purpose of placing part 34 in the proper relation with respect to die parts 35 and 36 in a convenient and speedy manner. 7

Male die 35 may now be caused to descend by any suitable mechanism, not shown, thereby causing the portion n i 3 45 which is intermediate bottom wall 31 and edge 29 to become engaged by die 35. The thickness of the walls 31, 32 and 33 is such that frame part 34 will bend until it assumes the position shown in Fig. 5, namely a right angle. As male die 35 descends, it causes part to become deformed and to undergo plastic flow. In Figs. 6 and 9, reference numeral 46 indicates the appearance which part 45 has after undergoing deformation by reason of the descent of male die 35. Fig. 8 shows that the bottom wall 31 has the deformed part 46 pressed thereagainst. As a result of the foregoing bending operation, part 46 is provided with an inner arcuate portion 47 and a rim 48. Intermediate the arcuate region 47 and the rim 48, deformed portion 46 is substantially cup-shaped. Part 46 has a substantially smooth surface and moreover merges smoothly at regions 49 and 50 with the side wall 25 of part 34.

The effect of bending frame part 34 in such a manner as to cause plastic deformation of portion 45 thereof is to produce a corner which has an integral reinforcing portion 46 of unusual strength as a result of the stresses produced in such portion 46 during deformation thereof.

There has been described thus far means for causing a corner to be produced in one frame part 34. If desired, two frame parts 34 may be joined by means of hollow rivets 23, as shown in Fig. 3, in order to produce a complete pivotally connected two-part frame ready to be bent into U-shaped form. Such two-part frame may be placed on a female die 36 and may be operated upon by a pair of male dies 35 which'are properly spaced from one another in such a manner that each is in registration with a transverse plane bisecting the edges 29 of opposed pairs of openings 27. Each die 35 could be located in such a manner with respect to portion 45 of a frame part 34 as to insure that such portion 45 will be plastically deformed upon the descent of the male die members 35. If the bending operation is carried out first at the left hand pair of openings 27, shown in Fig. 3, and then at the right hand pair of openings 27, shown in Pig. 3, there will be produced a U-shaped two-part frame formed of U-shaped frame parts 34, each of which is moreover U-shaped in cross section.

It will be seen from the foregoing description that there has been provided a blank 26 which may be shaped into channel form and which may then be bent into the shape of a U with two corners, each of which is reinforced by an integral part of the original blank. The resultant frame part is characterized by neat appearance, smooth visible corners, low weight and exceptionally high strength.

While the invention has been described in connection with the specific preferred embodiment shown in the drawings, it is obvious that changes may be made without departing from the scope of the invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. A metal blank for forming one channel shaped part of a'two-part frame for a handbag or the like, including a strip of bendable material, a pivot car at each end of such strip, a pair of spaced trapezoidal openings in one edge of such strip, the bottom edge of each opening being parallel to the edges of the strip, said openings also being spaced from the ends of the strip, said blank being adapted to be bent along longitudinal lines which are parallel to the edges of the strip in order to form upwardly extending channel side Walls, the parallel line nearest the said one edge of the strip being spaced inwardly of the bottom edge of each of the openings so as to leave between each such bottom edge and the inner face of the bottom wall of the channel-shaped part sufiicient material which may be caused to undergo plastic deformation in a direction parallel to the channel bottom wall so that said deformed materialwill extend substantially up to the opposite channel side wall, the side edges of each of the openings diverging outwardly from the respective bottom edge of each opening, whereby after the channel shaped frame part is bent to provide a corner, the side edges of each of the openings are substantially parallel to each other.

2. A U-shaped frame for a handbag or the like comprising two channel-shaped parts, pivot ears disposed at the ends of each of said parts, openings in each of said pivot ears, hollow rivets passing through such openings and pivotally interconnecting the pivot ears on one chaunel-shaped part with the pivot ears on the other channelshaped part, each such channel-shaped part comprising a body portion, a leg portion at each end of such body portion and extending at right angles to such body portion, each channel-shaped part being U-shaped in cross section and having a first side wall, a bottom wall, and a second side wall, said first sidewall being provided with a pair of corners, said corners being disposed one at each end of the body portion at the point where the leg portions join the body portion, said second side wall being provided with an opening substantially opposite the corner provided in the first side wall at each end of the body portion, each opening extending downwardly from the top of the second side wall a substantial distance, each opening terminating at such a distance from the inner side of the bottom wall that a strip of metal will be provided intermediate the bottom of each opening and the inner surface of the bottom wall, said strip 'of metal being of such width and having such an amount of material therein that if such strip is deformed and moved in a direction toward the nearest corner, such strip will not rupture but will be elongated without breaking and extend substantially into contact with the adjacent edge, said elongated portion or strip being substantially cup-shaped in close proximity to the inner surface of said bottom wall, whereby to provide an integral reinforcing portion for each corner.

3. A U-shaped channel member comprising a first side wall, a bottom wall, and a second side wall, said channel member having a transverse corner bend formed therein whereby said first side wall is provided with a smooth, substantially right angle corner, said second side wall being provided opposite said corner with an opening extending from the free edge of said second side wall more than half way to the inner surface of said bottom wall, thus producing a portion integral with said second side wall and disposed intermediate the bottom of the opening and the inner surface of said bottom wall, said portion comprising a cup-shaped element, a part of said element lying against the surface of the bottom wall, said element being surrounded by an upstanding wall thereby forming a reinforcing element integral with said corner bend.

4. A method of forming a channel member for use in a frame for a handbag or the like, including the steps of providing a blank consisting of an elongated strip having two edges with two openings provided in one edge thereof, said openings being spaced apart from each other and being spaced apart from the ends of such strip, bending portions of the strip about spaced longitudinal lines which are parallel to the edges of the strip in order to form a first side wall, a second side wall, and a bottom wall interconnecting the first side and the second side walls, bending the channel-shaped member thus formed about a transverse plane through the center of one of the holes aforementioned in such a manner as to maintain the bottom wall in the same plane as before, said bending step producing a substantially right angled corner in the first side wall, said bending step being accompanied by a simultaneous elongation of material intermediate the bottom of each hole, and the inner surface of the bottom wall.

form a first side wall, a second side wall, and a bottom wall interconnecting the first side wall and the second side wall, bending the channel-shaped member thus formed about a transverse plane through the center of one of the holes aforementioned in such a manner as to maintain the bottom wall in the same plane as before, said bending step producing a substantially right angled corner in the first side wall, said bending step being accompanied by a simultaneous elongation of material intermediate the bottom of each hole and the inner surface of the bottom wall, and further including the steps of bending the channel-shaped member about a transverse plane passing through the middle of the second opening located in the second side wall, said bending causing a second right angled corner to be formed in the first side wall substantially opposite the said second opening, said bending operation being accompanied by a simultaneous deformation and elongation of the material intermediate the bottom of the second opening and the inner surface of the bottom wall, whereby a U-shaped frame part is formed adapted to be pivotally connected to a similar U-shaped frame part.

6. A method of making a frame for a handbag or the like which includes the steps of providing a pair of blanks, each of which has a length substantially greater than its width, each of which has two edges, one edge of each blank being provided with a pair of openings which are spaced apart from each other and which are spaced apart from the ends of such blank, carrying out bending operations upon each blank whereby to form a first side Wall, a bottom wall and a second side wall for each blank, pivotally interconnecting the ends of the channelshaped frame parts thus formed, the bottom walls of the channel-shaped parts being adjacent one another, the second side wall of each part having the openings therein being uppermost, each opening in the second side wall being disposed opposite the corresponding opening in the second side wall of the other channel-shaped frame part, bending each of the channel-shaped frame parts simultaneously about a transverse plane extending through the mid-point of a first pair of opposed openings in the second side walls of such frame parts, such bending operation being carried out in such a manner that each of the bottom walls remain in the same plane as before, such simultaneous bending operation resulting in the formation of a substantially right angled corner in the first side wall of each of the frame parts, said bending operation also simultaneously causing in each frame part the deformation of material in the first side wall intermediate the bottom of the opening and the inner surface of the bottom wall said deformed material providing a reinforcement for the adjacent corner which is integral with the said second side wall.

7. A method of making a frame for a handbag or the like which includes the steps of providing a pair of blanks, each of which has a length substantially greater than its Width, each of which has two edges, one edge of each blank being provided with a pair of openings which are spaced apart from each other and which are spaced apart from the ends of such blank, carrying out bending operations upon each blank whereby to form a first side wall, a bottom wall, and a second side wall for each blank, pivotally interconnecting the ends of the channel-shaped frame parts thus formed, the bottom walls of the channelshaped parts being adjacent one another, the second side Wall of each part having the openings therein being uppermost, each opening in the second side wall being disposed opposite the corresponding opening in the second side wall of the other channel-shaped frame part, bending each of the channel-shaped frame parts simultaneously about a transverse plane, extending through the midpoint of a first pair of opposed openings in the second side walls of such frame parts, such bending operation being carried out in such a manner that each of the bottom walls remain in the same plane as before, such simultaneous bending operation resulting in the formation of a substantially right angled corner in the first side wall of each of the frame parts, said bending operation also simultaneously causing in each frame part the deformation of material in the first side Wall intermediate the bottom of the opening and the inner surface of the bottom Wall, said deformed material providing the reinforcement for the adjacent corner which is integral with the said second side wall, including the further steps of simultaneously bending the channel-shaped frame parts about a transverse plane passing through the midpoints of each of the remaining pair of openings, such bending operation also being such as to maintain the bottom wall of each frame part in the same plane as before, said bending operation also being such as to provide each of the first side walls of the frame parts with a substantially right angled corner opposite the respective opening in the second side wall of each frame part, said simultaneous bending operation moreover also being accompanied by an elongation of the material intermediate the bottom of each of the second pair of openings and the adjacent bottom wall whereby to provide an integral reinforcement for the corners thus produced.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 837,301 Hiering et a1 Dec. 4, 1906 1,031,435 Fuller July 2, 1912 1,521,237 Fuller Dec. 30, 1924 2,269,212 Laubenstein Jan. 6, 1942 

